Myrkr
Mark holstered his blaster and checked Lumiya's pulse. She was still alive, but he doubted she would be that way for long. Without cybernetic replacements all the bacta in the world wouldn't help.
He walked out of the room and wandered down to the kitchen while pondering the situation.
Something wasn't right.
If Jacen met with Lumiya simply to train to become a Master of the Unifying Force…then why kill Mara? Why deny everything so long? The Jedi would have admonished him for associating with a known Sith. He'd be put on probation for a while and that would be the end of it. There had to be more to the story.
He went to the kitchen's cooling unit and pulled out a bottle of juice. He unscrewed the top and took a long swig as he thought about the situation. For Jacen to risk Jedi censure Lumiya must have offered him something he wanted. Mark didn't think it was money or power; Jacen didn't seem the type to be influenced by greed.
It could have simply been knowledge. Jacen was known for scouring the galaxy for information on Force techniques. Mark didn't know what triggered his previous obsessive search for new Force skills, but he disappeared for years. But, if it wasn't knowledge…then what was Jacen's weakness? What could Lumiya have offered him in exchange for his apprenticeship? He could ask Jacen, but he doubted his nephew would fess up.
Mark was finishing up his juice when he heard Jacen calling out his name.
"Mark, can you let me go! I need to use the 'fresher," Jacen yelled in a disdainful tone of voice.
"I'm coming," he called back and trotted down to where this nephew was locked up.
Jacen's eyes went wide with panic when Mark entered the room. "Sithspit! What the hell happened? Who'd you kill?"
Mark frowned unsure what he meant. He then looked down at his shirt and armored chest plate and realized Lumiya bleed all over it when he carried her in.
"Damn it," Mark cursed. "This is my last clean shirt."
"Who'd you kill?" Jacen sounded frantic.
Mark had started unbuckling his bloody armor when his comlink in his side pocket beeped. He pulled it out and read the message. "Jaden's ship just entered the atmosphere. I need to clean up. I don't want him to see me covered with blood." He turned to leave but Jacen protested.
"I have to piss and I want to know who you killed?"
Mark finished taking off his armor and dropped it to the ground. "Oh, that's Sith blood. Lumiya's to be exact." Mark went over to Jacen and unlocked one cuff and then reattached it to the bed rail so Jacen had one free hand. Mark handed him the empty juice container. "Here you can take a leak in this."
As Jacen reached out for the bottle, Mark pulled it back. "Before I give this to you, I need to warn you…if you throw a bottle of urine at me or across the room I will stun your Sith butt and then wipe up the mess with your unconscious body. Do you understand?"
Jacen scowled at him. "I understand. No throwing piss."
"Good." Mark handed him the plastic bottle. He picked up his armor and went to leave but Jacen's voice halted him again.
"You killed Lumiya?"
Mark turned to his nephew and frowned. "She's not dead yet, but she soon will be. She said she came for you…her apprentice. Those are her words, not mine. I let her know that wasn't going to happen. She wasn't happy with my plan to keep you and decided to fight. I guess she didn't know killing Sith is my specialty." Mark looked down where blood was running off his armor and onto the floor. "I got to go. Remember no throwing urine."
Jacen watched his blood covered uncle leave the room. He wasn't sure what he meant by 'She's not dead yet'. Was he torturing her? With that much blood he must be skinning her alive. And what did he mean when he said, 'She wasn't happy with my plan to keep you'. Did Uncle Mark plan to make him his apprentice?
"That's not going to happen," Jacen whispered as he looked at the bottle given to him. He was going to relieve his bladder and then he was going to escape
.
Mark stood outside the building as he watched the Temple shuttle Jedi Sentinel land next to Lumiya's ship. When the boarding ramp came down it wasn't Jaden who exited, but Mark's youngest son Talon Tantiss.
Talon stopped at the top of the ramp to survey his surroundings. He wore a black form-fitting Jedi outfit with a lightweight cloak that would often billow out like a cape. It was an alternative Jedi uniform preferred by the younger Knights. Mark wore a brown version of the outfit, but with the traditional Jedi cloak, mainly to pacify Grand Master Luke. If Mark had his way he would wear his cargo pants, compression shirts and Beskar armor all the time.
The wind whipped across the boarding ramp blowing Talon's blond mop of hair into a tangled mess. Mark had to chuckle at the sight; he looked like a poster boy for a Jedi recruiting Holo. In fact, Talon was sometimes used in Jedi recruiting pamphlets. He was the personification of the perfect Jedi. Talon was tall—just under two-meters in height—muscular, an expert in most lightsaber techniques, and had an aura of power that radiated from him. It also didn't hurt that he looked more like Luke Skywalker than Luke's own sons.
Of course, Talon would actually look just like his father if Mark didn't dye his hair and irises in order to hide the fact that he was cloned from Skywalker DNA. But since the general public knew nothing about Mark's background they had a field day propagating rumors about Talon being Luke's love child. The stories didn't bother Mark so much because he knew the truth, but his wife Kira and Mara were not amused by the rumors…especially when some of them made their way around the Temple.
Finally Kira threatened to move from the temple in order to get away from the dirty looks if something was not done about the stories. Reluctantly, Luke gathered the Master's together and finally let everybody know of Mark's origins and asked them to try to squash the rumors within the temple walls.
Of course that didn't stop the rumormongers from running amok outside the Academy. The sleemo reporters not only enjoyed spreading the rumor that Talon was Luke's illegitimate son, but Talon Tantiss did nothing to try to stop the rumors. It was almost like he enjoyed the attention of being the supposed love child of the Grand Master…especially when he discovered that women were turned on by the prospect.
From the time he was in his late teens until now in his mid-twenties, he had fostered a reputation of being a ladies' man. To date there had been eight paternity tests ordered for Talon. To Mark's great relief none of the children turned out to be of his son's making. Mark wasn't sure if Talon's reputation was real or more the creation of the media.
The young man strutted down the loading ramp in a cocky gait that was reminiscent of Lando Callrissian's stride. He gave his father a wide smile. "Hey Dad."
Mark walked forward and greeted his son. "It's good to see you Talon," He put a hand on his son's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. He looked up to the ship. "Did you bring Jaden?"
"He's on board and packing up his medical field gear. I thought I would come down and check out the situation first."
Mark gave a disappointed frown. "Did you tell your brother to stay inside the ship until you determined if I went to the dark side or not?"
Talon laughed and gave his father a teasing grin. "Dad, we all know you can't go Sith."
Mark furrowed his brow in confusion. "And why is that?"
"Because Mom didn't give you permission to do so," Talon said then burst out laughing.
The older man shook his head. "I don't do everything you mother tells me."
"Sure you don't," his son replied in a sarcastic tone. "Okay, let's see if I am dealing with Darth Daddy." He chuckled as he walked around his father and taking inventory of his clothing. "Hmmm…cargo pants, stained compression shirt and a red chafing on your neck from wearing a ysalamiri shoulder carrier. It's not what I would expect from a Sith. Don't you guys wear Pleather pants, giant male-enhancing cod pieces, have bad personal hygiene, rotting teeth, yellow eyes, and an uncontrollable desire for world domination?"
Mark smiled. "Pretty much…I do have the yellow eyes," Mark pointed out.
"I noticed that." He gazed at his father evenly. "Was that from saving Aunt Mara?"
Mark nodded. "I didn't want to cross the line to the dark side, but I had no choice."
"Luke would say everybody has a choice," Talon pointed out.
That comment irritated Mark. "No!" he said emphatically. "I had no choice because I wasn't going to let Ben cradle his dead mother in his arms when I had the knowledge to save her. I could never look Luke or Ben in the eyes again if I did."
Talon sighed. "Dad, I would have probably done the same, but the Jedi don't think anything is worth risking yourself to the dark side. If you fell the galaxy would have faced a much greater danger from you."
Mark turned and gave a gesture of disbelief. "I wouldn't let that happen."
Talon gave his father a knowing look. "Why are you here, Dad? To keep the dark side from influencing you?"
Mark shook his head. "No, I am here because of Jacen. He's the one who decided to apprentice under a known Sith. He needs medical help and we need to find a way to…I don't know…deprogram him from his evil ways."
Talon nodded. "I should let you know Mom told Luke where you are, so we're probably only an hour ahead of him. If you want Jaden to pretty Jacen up before Luke arrives, we need to do it now."
"Hey," a voice called out from the ship's boarding ramp. Jaden Tantiss was standing on the top of the ramp burdened down with three large medical bags. Jaden was as tall as his brother, but that is where the resemblance ended. He had wavy brown hair, dark eyes and deeply tanned skin like his mother. "Can someone help, I can't levitate this gear with the place crawling with ysalamiri."
"Sure, Jaden," Mark said as he went to the ramp and grabbed bags from Jaden's hands. "Come on, you're needed inside."
The three men entered the building and Mark hesitated in the hallway. He looked down the corridor where Jacen was located and then the other direction where he had left Lumiya dying. "Jacen is down that way," he motioned down the hall. "But there's somebody else that needs your help more."
Mark and his sons walked down the hall and into the room holding Lumiya's bloody body.
"Stang!" Talon turned and gave his father a curious look. "Somebody you know, Dad, or was she just an unlucky door-to-door sales woman that caught you at a bad time?"
"Lumiya," Mark replied.
Jaden's eyebrows shot up as he went over to check her vitals. He placed his fingers on her neck to look for a pulse. "She's dead." He stepped back and gazed at the woman. "Ben told me about her. Her name used to be Shira Brie. Supposedly she dated Uncle Luke."
Mark laughed. "In that case maybe Mara will give me a medal for killing her." He gave his son a concerned look. "How is Mara?"
"The neurotoxin that poisoned her is almost totally flushed from her system. Her minor cuts and scrapes have healed. She should be taken out of her induced coma any day now. Which will be none-to-soon. There are a lot of rumors going around about you, Jacen and the dark side. Uncle Luke wants answers and he is not too happy with you going transceiver silent."
Mark shook his head. "I would like some answers, also." He walked out of the room and moved down the corridor. "Jacen is down here."
He led his sons down the hall to a room where he had secured Jacen. As they neared the door they could hear the clanging of chain on metal. When the three men entered the room they found Jacen trying to break the crossbar that his cuffs were secured to. "Knock it off Jacen unless you want me to stun you again." Mark said as he pulled out his blaster for emphasis.
When Jacen flinched at the sight of the blaster Jaden turned to his father "Dad?" he said. "How many times have you stunned him?"
Mark shrugged. "I don't know two or three times so far."
Jaden shook his head in disbelief. "Repeated stunning can scramble neurons and cause brain damage."
A wide, insolent grin broke across Mark's face. "I am pretty sure he was already brain damaged before I captured him. I have no idea what possessed him to train under a Sith."
"You don't know what you are talking about," Jacen bit out. He turned to Jaden. "He's Sith!" Jacen looked back to Mark and pointed to him with his free hand. "Look at his eyes," Jacen demanded before he began struggling with his restraints again.
"Calm down Jacen," Jaden said while holding his hands out in a placating gesture. He looked up at his father. "Dad, can you leave for a while? Maybe he'll relax a little."
Mark rolled his eyes and left Jaden to work on Jacen.
Jacen continued to try to break his restraints. "Jacen," his cousin said in a soothing voice. "Please stop so I can check you out."
Jacen stopped struggling and looked at his cousin. "He is Sith."
"Let me check you out first and then we'll discuss my father and any dark side propensities he may have. Look at me, Jacen." When Jacen faced him, Jaden put his hands on both sides of his cousin's jaw. "It doesn't look dislocated or broken. Open you mouth and close it."
Jacen complied without protest. "No popping or grating sound. I don't believe there is a problem with the temporomandibular joint. I think we're dealing with inflammation and a periorbital hematoma." Jaden dropped his hands away from Jacen's jaw. "In other words, you are bruised, swollen and have a black eye."
"That's not going to matter when I'm dead. Didn't you hear me!" Jacen yelled. "He's Sith!"
Jaden sighed. "Every family has its problems." He reached down into his medical bag, picked up some bacta gel and started placing it on Jacen's wounds.
"Every family has its problem?" Jacen repeated incredulously. "Are you part of his Sith take over."
Jaden let out a breath of frustration. He sat down on the edge of the bed and gazed at his cousin. "Jacen, listen to me. Repeated stuns by a blaster can cause severe paranoia and delusional thinking."
"I'm not imagining his yellow eyes. We all know that indicates that a person is drawing on the dark side of the Force."
"Jacen, that's proof enough that he isn't Sith." Talon interrupted. "He can't be drawing on the dark side of the Force. We are all Force blind."
When Jaden snickered, Talon looked at him. "What?"
Jaden shook his head. "Nothing, I was just remembered something funny Mom said about Force blindness. I'll tell you later." Jaden stood and continued his examination. He checked the lump on the right side of Jacen's head and then ran his hands down his neck. Jaden pulled out a small penlight and shone it into his cousin's eyes. "Have you vomited since you received your head wound?"
"Yes, after your dad hit me again," Jacen said angrily.
Jaden nodded sympathetically. "Any periods of unconsciousness?"
Jacen scoffed. "After he stunned me."
"Headache? Balance, visual or hearing problems?"
"Headache," Jacen said.
Jaden reached down into his bag. "I have some pain medication."
"So, Jacen," Talon said with a smirk. "Do you have a Sith name? Darth-something-or-another?"
"I'm not Sith!" Jacen protested.
Talon leaned against the wall and grinned. "Oh, I just thought of a great Sith name for you," Talon joked. "We can call you Darth Dumbkriff, Dark Lord of the dimwits."
"That's mean, Talon," Jaden chuckled as he handed Jacen a couple of pills. "Take these, they're chewable."
Jacen took the pills and plopped them in his mouth then glowered at his cousins. "You two are either Sith like your father or in denial. Your Dad is going to kill Luke when he gets here. I'm the bait for his trap. He already told me that."
Jaden shook his head. "Jacen, you're not thinking clearly. Repeated stunning will do that."
"You're wrong," Jacen said as he gave his chain another tug. "He imprisoned me and nearly killed me. He's Sith and Uncle Luke is in danger. If you won't save Uncle Luke, I will!" Jacen began frantically yanking at the chain restraining him until Jaden pressed a hypospray against his neck and activated it. Jacen turned to his cousin in shocked disbelief. "You're stunning me also?" He then went limp. Jaden grabbed ahold of his cousin and helped lay him down on the bed.
"It's just a sedative, Jacen," Jaden said softly. "I don't want you hurting yourself."
Talon walked over to where Jacen was struggling to stay awake and leaned over him with a smirk. "Don't worry cousin. We'll keep the big bad Sith from hurting you."
Those were the last words Jacen heard before blackness overtook him.
